Undercover investigation brings drug charges

Published
12:00 am CST, Monday, February 10, 2014

ALTON — A mail man is facing charges for allegedly making the wrong kind of deliveries.

Michael A. Hayes, 44, of the 1700 block of Alby Street, Alton, is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of marijuana and a count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, hydrocodone, a prescription pain killer.

He was charged after an informant contacted the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois, whose officers conducted an undercover investigation at his residence. The enforcement group is a unit of the Illinois State Police.

An agent filed a sworn statement in which he said Hayes was selling marijuana from a home at 1726 Alby St., Alton. The informant told the officer that Hayes was employed, as of Feb. 3, as a United States Postal Service mail carrier.

The agent set up a buy with a confidential source on Feb. 4. The informant went to the door on that date, knocked on the door and bought an ounce of suspected marijuana for $150, the statement said.

The agent filed the statement in asking a judge for a search warrant.

The confidential source came back to the Alby Street residence on Feb. 6 and bought another ounce for $150. This time, Hayes allegedly directed a juvenile to go get a plastic sandwich bag with which to package the marijuana sale, the statement alleges.

A judge approved a search warrant, and officers returned to the home on Feb. 6.

A court document claims the officers seized a double action revolver, miscellaneous drug paraphernalia, more than $1,300 in cash, suspected prescription pain medication, three bags of suspected marijuana, a ledger, and two cell phones.

The charges specify that Hayes twice unlawfully delivered more than 30, but less than 500 grams of marijuana. He was also accused of possessing the prescription pain medication.

Bail was set at $30,000.

Sanford J. Schmidt can be reached at 618-463-2558 or Twitter @sanfordjschmidt.